Worth Fighting For
by ApollodoraTheExplorer
Summary: Melissa Mao and Deunen Knute are in love and close to their deaths. The rest is explained in story. I'm only posting this 'cus I'm in a foul mood and I need a little wish fulfilment to calm me down. Don't take it too seriously.


_So yeah, my buddy Vivienne, (who for reasons I can never work out refuses to post anything online) emailed me with a writing challenge. In the exact words she sent them, it was "__**write a single chapter in which two of your favourite female animé characters come together in the setting of your favourite video game and fall in love. There must also be a mysterious and totally evil organisation against them. There must also be a reference to Persona 4.**__" Not as easy as it sounds. Thus, here we are. Admittedly, they don't fall in love but instead are in love. I think it implies enough to feel like it's part of a full story (which would probably end up having a much higher rating than this short chapter) but if not, feel free to comment._

_The video game it's set in is WipEout fusion, a racing game for the ps2 that I kind of rule at. The two animé girls are Deunen Knute from Masamune Shirow's Appleseed and Sgt Major Melissa Mao from Shoji Gatoh's Full Metal Panic. The evil organisation may or may not be Black Ghost from Cyborg 009 and the Persona 4 reference comes in the form of Rise Kujikawa. If I were to continue then Naoto Shirogane would probably come into the story too._

In the whole history of the tournament, the stadium has never been so full. From top to bottom, the rows of seats are packed tight, with people crammed in twos or threes to each seat. Behind the bleachers yet more people have amassed in their thousands to stare at the massive screens, each silently hoping to catch a glimpse of their beloved racing stars on the screens. And of course, they are also hoping out loud that one of the aforementioned stars will crash dramatically and leave nothing but a smoking wreck in the centre of the track. Out there, in the heat of the desert, they pack together in their thousands, just to see the deaths of these brave people. It is through this that she is fighting.

When Deunen awoke four hours earlier to find the bed next to hers empty she didn't even need to ask where her teammate had gone. There is only one place in the world where she could be: here. They've been racing together for forty-three weeks now and only one single race stands between them and triumph in the Iapetos league.

As she forces her way further and further in the crowds become only thicker. Never in her whole life has she been surrounded by this many people, even in the wars, or the cities of her old life. She could easily be crushed by them in a moment flat if they all moved as one against her. And that is how she perceives them: as one being. There are no individuals here; only just one sweaty, hot mass of pre-emptive rage and excitement. All around her, the noise builds. Children scream, adults swear, engines roar and, above it all, her own heartbeat crashes through her ears like bolts of thunder. If she were to stop for even a moment the sheer power of it all – the heat, the fear, the anger and the noise – would simply wash her away. But, no, today is no day to stop. So, she lunges forth through the crowd with the determination of a starving lioness; kicking, punching and shoving her way through the masses. The people around her are probably complaining about the treatment they are receiving at her hands but the sound cannot and will not reach her ears. The only direction is forward and the only outcome is success.

A hand on her shoulder brings her very forcibly back to reality. The hand belongs to a man of about fifty years of age. His face is lobster red from the heat and his patchy brown hair is already slick with sweat.

_Listen here girly, _he grumbles. _If you wanted a good space you shoulda gotten here early like the rest of us. Now why don'cha go and get back to your own area before we make you go back._

Faster than he can react to, she knocks his hand from her shoulder.

_Don't even touch me!_ She replies. _I have to get in there!_

She turns to leave, only to find several more lobster-faced men in her path.

_You've got some nerve there,_ the first man says. _You're going to get in place or we're going to give you a lesson you won't forget._

The tallest and least overweight of the men lunges forward, only to receive a kick to his jaw. Taking the hint, the rest of the men lunge forward as one, only to all receive similar treatment. One of the men is knocked flying and lands directly onto a man from a separate group in the crowd, who naturally attacks back, and is himself attacked by others from different groups. In moments, the situation has evolved into a brawl and it is spreading quickly. No-one in the crowd knows or even cares what the cause of the fight is but they join in anyway and Deunen couldn't be happier as a result. Within seconds she vanishes into the fray, running ever faster towards the racetrack and stopping only to apply a punch or kick to any over-zealous members of the crowd that have drifted from the main fight. After what seems like hours, she reaches the main gate to the stadium, silently thanking no-one in particular that she hasn't missed the start of the race. In front of the six-foot metal gate, there stands a solitary man with a taser attached to his belt. From one look at her flushed face (on which there are now several bruises, a burst lip and a black eye) and the steeled expression that is on it, he figures out why she is there. Without a word, he pulls the taser from his belt and runs at her. Unfortunately from him, she still has her military training under her belt and is running entirely on the adrenaline from her fear. With a mighty leap she clears his lunging arm, lands on his shoulders and from there leaps over the gate, landing on the other side with a slightly clumsy roll that succeeds in covering her already dirty clothes with sand and dust. Without so much as a moment's pause, she jumps to her feet and begins running through the stadium at full speed.

Meanwhile, down on the racetrack, Deunen's teammate, Melissa, is making the final preparations to their ship. With a solemn expression she carefully checks every connection, every port on the ship and each individual component of the instrument panel. Of course, there isn't a thing left to do on it. She wouldn't have left the night before if even the slightest thing still needed doing on it. But still, it is a strange comfort to make sure. As she works she is extremely aware of the world around her. She is aware of the hundreds of thousands of pairs of eyes that are on her, the throbbing of the engine as she checks it and the blistering heat on the back of her neck. She has never been so serious in her whole life but, certainly today, the last day of her life, isn't a bad time to start.

Over her shoulder, Melissa hears the unmistakable noises of a growing commotion. From the sound of it, some idiot has jumped the gate from outside and is trying to get in to see the race from the stands. It happens a lot and the chances are the stupid idiot will just end up in jail for the duration of the race.

But, wait. For a moment there she was sure she heard her name being yelled from the stands. She shakes her head and turns her attention back to the circuitry on the ship. Then, it comes again. Slowly, she turns around and for a moment her heart seems ready to burst with joy. There, in the crowd, fighting off a dozen guards, there is her beloved Deunen. In a minute, Deunen knocks out the last of the guards, vaults the fence onto the track and runs over to Melissa and the ship, tripping only once as she crosses a magnetic line. In a manner that is clumsy and childish compared to the fighting moves that she displayed moments before, she shakily gets to her feet, climbs the mammoth ship and runs straight into her lover's arms.

The kiss that the two women share lasts only a moment or two in reality. But, to them, it could have lasted for hours. In that one kiss, they say more than they could ever have hoped to say in words. In that kiss, they tearfully apologise to each other for the fight they had. They berate each other for their stupidity, thank each other for being supportive, declare their undying loyalty to one another and send out their challenge to each and every other racer in the league. They emerge from it, both out of breath and with tears streaming down their faces.

Once she has caught her breath and attempted to wipe the tears from her face (which only really succeeds in mixing the tears with the dirt on her face), Deunen finally manages to form words.

_Wha, what are you th-thinking Melissa? _She stammers. _You're going to get yourself killed!_

_Yeah, it does kinda look that way, _Melissa replies casually. _ I figured, what better way to go than this? Besides, I ain't never backed down from a fight where I had even half a chance of winning and there's no good reason to start now._

In a fit of frustration Deunen punches her lover in the arm.

_Stupid! There's not even half a chance of us winning this one! _She cries. _They told us in plain English: they're going to do everything they can to make sure we don't survive this race! _

Melissa sighs.

_See now, that's the thing, _she says. _One thing Kurtz used to always say was "the easiest game to beat is a rigged game, onee-san" and he was right too. They're so damn confident in their ploy that they won't be guarding their backs! Just you wait and see!_

_It's a huge gamble on a really small chance, _Deunen says. _But, you're right. If you think it'll work then it will. We can do it!_

For a moment Melissa pauses.

_We?_ She says, with a note of triumphant pride. _I thought you were done. _

A smile breaks out on Deunen's face.

_Are you kidding me? _She says. _Without me you'd be dead before you even hit the start line! You can't shoot for shit!_

For a moment, Deunen pauses. She glances at the ship below her and tries to repress a new surge of tears that are building up inside her.

_Besides, _she says eventually. _We made a promise together, didn't we? As soldiers, we promised to stick through each and every fight, regardless of the odds. If you think I'm going to walk out on the fight this close to the end you're even stupider than I thought...!_

And from there she breaks into tears properly. For a moment Melissa just stands back and lets her lover vent her sorrow and fear. But, it is only a moment since the alarm sounds out across the stadium to signal the end of preparations for the race. They have two minutes to get into the ship and be ready for the lights. Melissa hauls her teammate to her feet and takes her by the shoulders.

_We can do this, _she says. _We've been trained to stare death in the face. We are soldiers in war and this is just another battle. The only difference now is that we're doing it for fun._

For the shortest of moments they pull each other into a tight embrace. When they remove themselves, Deunen has steeled her face once more.

_I'm ready._

Without another word they climb into their respective cockpits and begin the final preparations.

_Engines firing and ready to go._

_Primary weapon systems ready for input._

_Air-breaks functioning normally._

_Fuel reserves standing at 100%._

_Ready to go?_

_Ready. Everything good on your end up there, Rise-chan?_

Over the microphone they hear their operator, Rise Kujikawa.

_All good up here, girls, _Rise says. _But, next time can you leave the romance for after the race? It gets a bit boring to watch after about half an hour..._

_No can do there operator, _Melissa says. _Tell you what; if we win this then we can all celebrate together. 'til then just keep those pretty eyes looking on our fuel reserves, ok?_

_Yeah, yeah, _Rise says. _I'm on it._

With that, they are ready and not a moment too soon. The countdown on the screen high above them has begun. They are ready to face whatever comes their way in this last race. From her weapons position at the back of the ship Deunen breathes deeply and places a hand on the instrument panel.

_Briareos, _She whispers. _I'll be with you soon enough. Just you wait and see._

The counter on screen ticks down to the last possible moments.

10, 9, 8, 7, the engine beneath them begins to throb and pulse with energy,

6, 5, 4, the crowd around them begin to roar with excitement,

3, 2, they are ready for anything now, even death,

1, time slows, making that last second seems to last a hundred years, and,

Go!

They are away, off into the clutches of death itself. They have only luck and their own wits between them and the abyss. Only time will tell if they see the end of the race alive.


End file.
